Harrison thumps Cats 34-7

September 21, 2011 - The game of football is not just running, tackling, blocking and passing.

Oxford Coach Bud Rowley knows there is a great deal of learning and he told his team following their 34-7 loss last week to Farmington Hills Harrison that they needed to learn from their loss and use it to win games.

The Harrison Hawks are the defending Division II state champions and have an 18-game winning streak. They are ranked number one this season and are probably the best football team in the state, regardless of division.

The Wildcats played well in the first half and tied the game at 7-7 with 7:52 left in the second quarter on a one-yard TD by Anthony Cappuccilli.

After that, Harrison's quarterback Jake Vento put the game away during the next two quarters.

Vento had TD runs of 62, six and 47 yards and ran 10 times for 190 yards. Those three runs broke any momentum the Wildcats hoped to achieve with their ball-control style.

Oxford was playing a new quarterback, freshman Glacier Wallington, in place of Vito Giannola who is injured.

Wallington was five-of-12 passing for 75 yards and threw two interceptions. He also made an interception on defense.

"He needs reps," Coach Bud Rowley said. "It was a great christening for him. He saw one of the better teams in the state and now he knows what he needs to do."

Rowley has always wanted his teams to play the best teams because it is how you can improve and learn.

"It was good to see what we need to do as a team. We have to go back to work and win the remaining five games."

Oxford's Prescott Line was held without a touchdown after scoring 14 in the first three games of the season, but Line still caused problems for the Harrison defense as they often struggled to bring him down.